The programs documented the political unrest in Egypt and extremist Muslim attacks on Christians.

Hegazy's attorney says the real reason his client was sentenced was because he abandoned Islam and became a Christian.

Hegazy had previously been jailed and tortured by Egyptian state security agents who wanted him to return to Islam.

"This incident shines a spotlight on the worldwide problem of blasphemy and anti-incitement laws," Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post.

"These laws have proven to be easily abused by those in power to suppress dissenters and religious minorities in general, and Christians in particular," he said. "No one should be surprised that this comes along with widely-reported attacks on freedom of the press in Egypt."